IAMGOLD (TSX: IAG) opened 2026 with a new record, riding a gold price north of $4,800 an ounce to its second billion dollar revenue quarter and a sharp acceleration in shareholder returns.
The intermediate gold producer reported first quarter revenue of $1.03 billion, more than double the $477.1 million booked in the same period last year. Net earnings attributable to equity holders climbed to $379.7 million, or $0.65 per share, compared with $39.7 million, or $0.07 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted net earnings came in at $391.1 million, or $0.67 per share.
Adjusted EBITDA reached $666.3 million for the quarter, with mine-site free cash flow of $524.6 million.
The numbers benefited from a realized gold price of $4,859 per ounce sold, up from $2,731 a year ago. Comparatively, Q4 2025 realized prices stood at $4,191, underscoring how steeply the metal has run since the back half of last year, when the company posted $1.09 billion in fourth quarter revenue and full year 2025 revenue of $2.85 billion.
Costs moved in two directions. On a consolidated basis, cash cost per ounce sold excluding royalties came in at $1,201, an improvement from $1,280 in Q1 2025 and roughly in line with the $1,230 full year 2025 figure. Including royalties, which are scaling with the gold price, cash cost rose to $1,608 per ounce, up from $1,459. All-in sustaining cost however was $2,124 per ounce, compared with $1,908 a year ago and $1,900 for full year 2025.
Capital allocation was the other headline. The company repurchased 12.9 million shares for $260 million during the quarter, repaid $100 million on its credit facility, and grew cash and cash equivalents by $128.3 million to $550.2 million. Available liquidity stood at roughly $1.10 billion at quarter end, up $228 million from the prior period.
Subsequent to quarter end, IAMGOLD bought back another 2.1 million shares for $40 million and paid down the remaining $100 million balance on the facility. Credit agencies took notice. Fitch revised its outlook on the company’s B+ rating from Stable to Positive in late March, and Moody’s followed in early April with an upgrade to B1.
On the operations side, attributable gold production totaled 183,600 ounces, against 161,000 in Q1 2025. However production was down markedly from Q4 2025’s record 242,400 ounce haul, but consistent with management’s full year guidance of 720,000 to 820,000 attributable ounces.
Côté Gold contributed 52,300 attributable ounces (74,700 on a 100% basis), with throughput constrained by unplanned conveyor downtime. A replacement belt is scheduled for installation during a planned May shutdown. Cash costs at Côté ran $1,369 per ounce excluding royalties and AISC of $2,109, both elevated relative to full-year guidance ranges of $900–$1,050 and $1,775–$1,925, respectively.
Westwood was the standout, producing 36,200 ounces, a 51% jump year over year, at a cash cost of $1,270 per ounce and AISC of $1,733, both well below guidance. Essakane delivered 95,100 attributable ounces (111,900 on a 100% basis), with cash costs excluding royalties of $1,083 per ounce, though Burkina Faso’s revised royalty regime pushed all in sustaining cost to $2,125.
Chief Executive Renaud Adams flagged updated technical reports across the asset base in coming quarters, including a Côté study by year-end that contemplates a larger operation incorporating the Côté and Gosselin zones.
Production is expected to weight toward the back half of 2026 as Côté works through its debottlenecking program.
IAMGOLD last traded at $22.16 on the TSX.
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